No Way Home
by Temperance Booth
Summary: Ranger breaks into Stephanie's apartment one night to find...Nothing! Stephanie's gone! But where did she go and why?
1. Meeting Miss Wilson

**3 years earlier…**

Ranger slowly made his way up the stairs to Stephanie's apartment. It had been a long day and all he wanted to do was crawl into a warm bed. Especially if that warm bed contained Stephanie Plum. He knew that she had been having a rough time lately and all he wanted to do was see her. She always made him feel better, like he belonged.

He worked his magic in her front door and as soon as the door swung open he sensed something was wrong. Peering into her apartment the first thing he noticed was that her hamster's cage was missing. He knew that when she got especially freaked out by one of the crazies that Vinny gave her to track down she would put Rex's cage into her room – to keep him from being scared she claimed – but something didn't feel right this time. He drew his gun and crept into the living room. It was empty.

No couch, no T.V., no end table. Nothing. All of it was gone. Walking into her bedroom only confirmed his suspicions. Stephanie Plum was gone.

**Present Day: Los Angeles…**

Tommy jerked awake when his cell phone went off. Looking down at the Caller ID he silently swore to himself. Before answering he sat up a little straighter in the seat of his black SUV, fixed his tie, and wiped the drool off that had formed in the corner of his mouth. His boss always yelled at him when he looked soppy, even if she couldn't see him, she could always tell.

Checking his appearance once more in the rearview mirror, he answered his state-of-the-art cell phone, "Hello Miss Manso." His boss, Carmen Manso did not sound happy. He listened to her angrily tell him that she needed those new recruits today.

He contemplated his words carefully before asking, "Miss Manso," he paused and sucked in a deep breath, "is something wrong?" As soon as the words came out of his mouth he regretted them.

For a minute or two there was no sound on the other end of the line. Then Tommy could hear Carmen sigh. She never sighed. She never expressed emotion—excluding anger and that calm thing all the Manso children possessed.

"Ricardo and my mother are here 'visiting'. I'm pretty sure my mom dragged Ric here; he's still pretty torn up about that woman. My mother isn't happy with me because I'm not married yet and there aren't any applicants for the job."

"Oh" was all he could manage. The Manso family had had a lot of trouble in the last couple years. Ric's--or Ranger as he was known to anyone that wasn't family--sort of girlfriend had disappeared 3 years ago. I had worked with Ranger before he met the woman, Bombshell everyone calls her, he never laughed, never smiled, never….anything. The only time--before Bombshell had come into Ranger's life--he smiled was when he talked to his daughter. Ranger came to help his sister out a couple of years ago and he would get this look on his face whenever Tank or one of his other guys talked about her. Now, he's worse then he was before she came into his life.

Just as he was about to say something else, one of the women they had been tailing, testing really, for the available position at RangeMan. Gladly diverting the awkward conversation, he told his boss that the target had just arrived and quickly disconnected after Carmen told him that Tank, Ranger's right-hand man, would be joining him to talk to their target. He watched as she walked into her apartment building and before following took a last glance at her file.

Her name is Stephanie Wilson. She's 5'7", weighed 115 lbs, had curly hair, and intense blue eyes. She could run a 5 minute mile, bench press 110 lbs, and had quick instincts. She ran for 5 miles every morning before her first job–waitressing at Sally's Diner—she worked from 8 am to 12:30 when she went back to her apartment for lunch and to change. She then goes to her second job as a filing clerk at a local law office from 1:30 pm to 6:00 pm. From there she goes to the gym to spar and lift weights for and hour, then she heads home again. At 7:30 pm she picks up her 2 year old daughter from her neighbor's and goes through a normal nightly routine.

The only reason Carmen had balked at the idea of hiring Stephanie was because of her 2 year old daughter. She eventually rethought her response when she faced Stephanie on the mats. They had sparred for 45 minutes before Carmen had finally defeated her. Now that we had identified Stephanie as our lead candidate, all Tommy had to do was approach her about the job. He took a moment to contemplate the options open to him and almost immediately decided that he should talk to her before Tank arrived. Tank tended to scare people.

He got out of his car and made his way to Stephanie's third floor apartment. Collecting his thoughts, he knocked on her door. He heard some muffled shuffling noises and the sound of the chain sliding off the door. The door opened she surprised him by saying, "You're the man that has been following me around all week. What do you want?"

Tommy could tell by the way that she was standing with her hand on her hip that she had a gun in the waistband of her jeans. Trying not to alarm her, he let his hands hang down by his sides and spoke,

"My company has been watching you for awhile; we want to offer you a job."

She gazed at him with a questioning expression and asked, "You're not a cop or a fed are you?"

His lips turned up in a grin at the thought of himself as a cop. "Not even close. I work for a security company called RangeMan." At the mention of RangeMan Stephanie's eyes got wide and her gazed shifted slightly to the left, focused on something over his shoulder. He stepped back and turned his head to see what she was looking at and barely moved his fingers in time to avoid getting them crushed in the door as Stephanie slammed it.

Snapping his head back over his shoulder so that he could see what Stephanie had seen he was assaulted with a very astounded Tank--frozen in his tracks. He looked back at the door and then at Tank, seeing the anger transforming Tank's features and how he kept flexing his hands he quickly stepped out of the way. As soon as Tommy moved Tank balled his fist and menacingly moved towards the door.

He pounded his fist against the door and said in ominous voice that had the same effect as a shout but really was only a whisper, "Stephanie, open the door." He paused, listening for a response. When there was no answer he tried again. This time raising his voice, "Open. The. Door." Still no answer. He sighed and said, "Bomber, don't make me kick the door down, I know you hate it when I do that." Again he listened for a response.

He was about to say something else when he heard a tiny voice ask, "Mommy, are that the bad guys?" Momentarily caught of guard by the presence of the tiny voice and its question, he almost didn't catch Stephanie's sigh before she answered.

"No sweetheart, those aren't the bad guys." The owner of the tiny voice pondered this and then replied, "Well then why can't they come in?" Stephanie sighed audibly and the sound of the chain slowly being unlocked could be heard. The door inched open to reveal Stephanie Wilson, or as Tank knew her, Stephanie Plum. The door stood wide open and the three just stared at each other.

To everyone's surprise, Tank was the one to break the awkward silence. He took a giant step forward and enveloped Stephanie in a hug. By the look on Stephanie's face, Tommy could tell that—however she knew Tank—she didn't know Tank to be so affectionate. Slowly he released her and stepped back.

"Where have you been Bombshell?" When Tommy heard the nickname 'Bombshell' something in his head clicked.

He looked from Stephanie to Tank and back, "Bombshell? As in Ranger's Bombshell?" He continued to shift his gaze from Stephanie to Tank. Stephanie looked at Tank with surprise when she heard Tommy call her 'Ranger's Bombshell'.

He continued, "Stephanie Plum? That's your name isn't it?" She jumped when he said her real name and quickly looked down the hall before stepping back and letting the two men in.

She closed the door after them and bent down so that she was eye-level with the little girl gazing up at the two strangers. The child just stood, staring up at the two biggest men she had ever seen. Stephanie took a finger and guided the little girl's chin so that she could look her in the eye.

"Charlie-babe, why don't you go watch some television before bed?" At the mention of television the little girl forgot about the two large men standing in their hallway and her expression brightened.

"Can I watch," she paused and squinted her eyes trying to think of a good movie. Finally one came to her, "The Wizard of Oz!"

Before Stephanie could answer Tank chuckled, drawing all attention to him. He just shook his head and smiled. Stephanie and Tommy stared in amazement, Tank didn't chuckle. Hell, he hardly ever smiled. Charlie anxiously tugged on her mother's sleeve to regain her attention.

"So, can I Mommy? Pluh-eeease!" Her eyes begged her mother to say yes. Stephanie smiled and turned the little girl toward the living room. "Go put it in sweetheart." The child ran off and Stephanie stood up. Gesturing for Tommy and Tank to follow, Stephanie led the way through one of the doors that led out of the hallway.

She went into the kitchen and headed towards the fridge. Opening the black door she turned to the two sizeable men standing in the doorway and queried, "You guys want anything to drink?" When both shook their head no she closed the door again and sat in one of the chairs at the slightly beat up wooden table. Tank and Tommy followed her example and sat in two available chairs.

For a moment everyone was silent, and then Tank stated more than asked, "So she's your daughter." Stephanie pursed her lips and nodded. "Her name is Charlotte Avery Wilson—well now that you've found us, I guess it's Plum again. She just turned two a couple of months ago." Silence settled over the trio again and was broken yet again by Tank. He simply stated, "Morelli."

When he said it he could not have imagined that Stephanie would react so venomously, "NO! She is MY daughter. She is MINE, not anyone else's, especially not Morelli's."

He paused, momentarily taken aback and conceded, "It's alright. I'm sorry; I didn't realize that it was such a sensitive subject."

Stephanie dejectedly hung her head, "God, Tank, I'm sorry. It's just…she's….she doesn't have a father. I'm all she has," Stephanie closed her eyes and admitted to the men, "She's all I have."

Tonight had been full of surprises from Tank and he yet again made his opinion on the subject at hand known, "No. You had Ric. You had us. Do you have any idea what you did to Ric when you left? Jesus, you just disappeared. I thought only the Mansos could do that. He's been looking for you, you know? He never stopped, even after the cop gave-up; he still kept—is--looking for you."

Stephanie let out another sigh and scrunched her still closed eyes tighter together before opening them to reveal her tear filled blue gaze.

"I never meant to hurt Ranger. You have to understand that. The whole thing—," She broke off trying to find the right words to explain her reasons for leaving. "A lot of things made me want to leave, he was one of the reasons I almost didn't. There was too much for me to deal with there. I would never have been able to live my life—the one I wanted—if I hadn't have left. You need to understand me. I can't tell you why I left, just know that I wouldn't have if I didn't have to."

Tank was about to say something when his cell phone went off, at the exact same moment that Tommy's did. They simultaneously looked at the caller ID's and swore. Tommy glanced at Tank and Stephanie before standing up and going into the hall. Stephanie had known who was calling the second the phone had rung. The hairs on the back of her neck had stood bolt upright. Only one person did that to her.

Slowly Tank brought the phone to his ear and pressed the talk button. "Yo," the standard RangeMan hello. He was silent for a moment and visibly paled as he listened. Stephanie could hear the dial tone from across the kitchen table.

Never letting his eyes leave Stephanie's he carefully put his phone down. They shared a moment of silence, both knowing who had just called. Then Tommy burst into the room.

"Ranger's on his way here!"


	2. I want to apologize to all my reviewers

**A/N: **I'm really sorry but this is not a new chapter. This is an apology to all of my reviewers. A lot has happened over the past year and I've kinda lost the writing spark. I'm hoping it will come back to me soon though! You don't know me but if you did you know that I procrastinate…..and it takes me forever to finish something once I started, especially something that I haven't really planned out like this. Please forgive me, I hate it when people don't update. I will also be writing kinda a recap at the beginning of any future chapters cause I know that sometimes you forget where the story is going. I am REALLY sorry. I also want to thank all of those that reviewed and know that i feel terrible about not updating.


	3. Real chapter! I promise :D

A/N: I am so sorry to all my reviewers. A lot has happened since I first uploaded this story and I haven't really had the time to write much. Add that to a TERRIBLE case of writer's block and you got my new chapter. Also I do realize that I misspelled Manoso. Sorry about that too!

Summary: Steph disappeared 3 years ago. Now she's surfaced again in LA. Tank found her while they were looking for recruits for the LA branch of RangeMan. Ranger just called and he's on his way…..

_Never letting his eyes leave Stephanie's he carefully put his phone down. They shared a moment of silence, both knowing who had just called. Then Tommy burst into the room._

"_Ranger's on his way here!"_

I realized I wasn't breathing and sucked in a deep breath. I was seriously contemplating making a run for it when Tank put his hand on my shoulder. I'm not quite sure whether it was to calm me down or to make sure I didn't head for the front door. My oxygen supply seemed a little low again so I took in another deep breath. That seemed to clear my head a little and I calmed down.

In a weak voice I asked, "What are we going to do?"

Then Tank informed her as cool as could be, "We wait." After that I admit, I started to panic a little. I hadn't seen Ranger in over 3 years. I'm pretty sure he was going to be pissed at me for leaving but I had to. Charlie and I wouldn't have been free in Trenton. We wouldn't have had lives of our own. I decided that thinking about what could've been wasn't helping me calm down so I stood up, turned and left the kitchen.

I knew that when Tank heard the door slam he must have thought I'd run. I admit, I almost did. Then I heard a little giggle coming from the living room. I couldn't leave Charlie. She was my life. I had to do what was best for her and right now Ranger looked like he was it. So instead I changed my course from the front door to the bathroom.

Closing the door tightly behind me I turned on the sink and splashed some cold water on my face. Realizing that this had probably smeared my mascara, I quickly grabbed a towel and my make-up bag to begin repairing the damage. Hey, I may not live in Jersey any more but I gotta have some priorities. A Cuban sex god/mercenary was going to arrive any minute and I should probably look my best so the coroner wouldn't have to do much when they found my strangled corpse. Just then there was a knock on the door.

Showtime. Taking one last deep breath I opened the bathroom door and motioned for Tank to let me answer the front door. Standing in front of the door it came to me that this probably wasn't such a great idea. I spun around to try to make it to the window but ran smack dab into Tank's massive chest. Looking down at me and shaking his head he gripped my shoulders and spun me around. I was again facing the door. Bracing myself. I grasped the door knob and turned it letting the door swing open. (A/N: I could end this chapter here but I feel really bad about not updating so…..)

An awkward silence settled over the adults standing in the hallway for a second time that day. When I had opened the door I instinctively shut my eyes. I was afraid as to what I would find if I opened them. But curiosity out-weighed my fright and I cracked one lid open. Seeing the man in front of me I opened the other.

The years had been kind to Ranger. He still had the black pony-tail and that delicious skin and those melt-you-with-one-glance eyes but something about him had changed. His features looked softer more resigned. He still looked heavenly, but I got the sense that women did throw themselves at him too much any more. He looked almost….haunted.

We stood in silence for a few more minutes, all of us waiting for Ranger to react, none of us really wanting him too. And again, for the second time that day, Charlie broke the silence. She came waddling out of the living room rubbing her eyes and saying, "Mommy I sleepy." I glanced at Ranger's face and was amazed to see a shocked look on his face. The shock became more evident when Charlie tugged on my shirt, pointed to him and asked, "Is that the bad guy, Mommy, or is he a good guy too."

Bending down my gaze transferred from Ranger to my daughter and I explained, "No, no sweetie he is a good guy too. And…I think it is time for someone to go to bed. Lets get you tucked in, ok?" glancing at the still silent Ranger I stood up, picked up Charlie and made my way towards her room.

Closing the door I settled Charlie into bed and began our nightly ritual. I led her over to the little bookshelf in the corner of her pink room and let her pick out a book. Taking the book from her tiny fist and scooping her up I swung her around and plopped her down onto her Wonder Woman bed spread. I felt a smile tug at the corners of my mouth when she giggled and all thoughts of the men standing in the other room evaporated.

She crawled under the covers and made room for me to snuggle with her. Then we began reading her choice for the night, Carl Goes to Daycare.

After Stephanie left to put Charlie to bed, the silence settled back over the three men in the hallway. Tank and Ranger were involved in some sort of stare off and all Tommy could do was hope that fists didn't start flying. Tank had a look in his eye like he was daring Ranger to yell at him or punch him or something and at the moment it looked like Ranger might take him up on his challenge.

Fearing for his safety—he'd seen both men fight—Tommy cautiously and surreptitiously attempted to press himself against the wall. Of course Tank and Ranger both noticed the movement and broke their gazes to glance at him. When they looked back at each other there was no longer the challenging look in either's eyes. Rather, Ranger looked even more resigned than he had when he had entered the apartment. Slowly he let out a sigh and spoke the first words since he had seen Stephanie, "Did you know?"

Tommy didn't have the telepathic thing going on that they did but he understood the question. Ranger was asking if Tank knew that she was here. He was asking how long Tank had kept this from him. He was asking if Tank was ever gonna tell him. Tank vehemently shook his head and replied, "She was one of Carmen's recruits. None of your sister's employees knew what she looked like so I guess it was just chance that she asked me to come help Tommy. Ranger silently nodded and silence settled back onto the group.

Slowly Stephanie opened the door to her daughter's room and slipped out, pausing to look at her sleeping daughter. A sad smile made its way onto her features as she thought of what she was about to face. Taking one last deep breath she inched the door closed and made her way back into the hall.

All eyes turned to Steph as she closed the door and without breaking the silence she motioned for them to follow her into the kitchen. Ranger was the last to enter the kitchen and quickly observed his surroundings.

He noted the cookie jar resting innocently on the counter top and the box of Tasty Cakes lying next to the toaster. He could practically see the gun most likely occupying the cookie jar, devoid of bullets. That was until he noticed how she was sitting in her chair. At first he thought she was sitting the way she was because she was nervous. Hell, she had better be nervous. She had no idea what he'd been through trying to find her. But then he realized that she must have a gun tucked into the waistband of her jeans.

She had been Carmen's top choice for a recruit. That didn't happen while your gun sat—unloaded—in your cookie jar. Trying to squelch the small smile that was threatening to grace his features at the thought that his Babe had finally learned how to take care of herself, Ranger sat down in the only empty chair left around the kitchen table. Right across from Steph.

Looking Ranger right in the eye Stephanie asked, "Where should I start?"

Not breaking the contact Ranger simple said, "Beginning."

Sighing Steph nodded and looked at Tank and Tommy before returning her gaze to Ranger. Biting her lip she asked in an almost inaudible whisper, "Could—for the first part could not ready to let the world know. Could Tank and Tommy leave for just that part."

Letting no emotion show Ranger coldly answered, "No. I put them through hell trying to find you. They deserve to know why too."

Tears threatening to overflow Stephanie hung her head, "Right. I deserve that. Okay. Beginning….I broke up with Morelli."

The tears began to fall, "Well to say the least he didn't take it that well. He—," her voice broke but she continued.

"We argued. He said that we were meant to be together. Then he showed me what he meant." She had to stop and take a few calming breaths.

"When I found out I was pregnant I knew that we couldn't have a life in Trenton. Not with him there. Not with all the whispers and looks I would get when I began to show. How would I explain who the father was. Morelli would've used it to marry me. To force me to—I couldn't live like that. So I left." She paused to gauge Ranger's reaction.

Before she could continue Ranger looked at Tank and Tommy and nodded towards the door. The two men slowly and silently got up and left the room. Tank stopped to squeeze Stephanie's arm before disappearing behind the swinging door. He then looked at his Babe. She had been through so much and as soon as she had begun to cry he regretted being so harsh to her. He opened his mouth to apologize but Stephanie stopped him. She shook her head and continued on with her story.

"You don't spend time around people like you without learning how to disappear. So that's what I did. I sold my furniture and apartment for a little extra cash, started takin all the jobs Connie could get me. I made plans. I figured LA would be a good place to disappear in. Found a guy that made good fake I.D.'s, set myself up with a whole new identity. When everything was perfect, I split."

She paused and sucked in a deep breath before she went on, "I am so sorry that I hurt you. I swear I never meant for you to get hurt. I just couldn't stay there. I mean you were—and we were—and…" her voice dropped to a whisper as she repeated, "I'm sorry."

A/N: Ok guys that was it. Tell me what you thought. Constructive criticism is welcome, but if you're just looking to be mean go somewhere else. Thank you to all of my reviewers and if you've read this chapter too I am truly greatful.


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